Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday pledged deeper cooperation with Bangladesh’s interim government chief, Muhammad Yunus, as Dhaka seeks new allies to balance its frosty ties with India.
Yunus took over Bangladesh last August after ousting the autocratic former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had fled to New Delhi following a student-led uprising. India was the biggest beneficiary of the Hasina government, and her downfall has sent cross-border relations into a tailspin. This has led to Yunus deciding to make his first state visit to China, India’s biggest Asian rival.
Xi told Yunus on Friday that Beijing was “willing to work with Bangladesh to take bilateral cooperation to a new level,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. “China… is determined to be a good neighbor, a good friend and a good partner for Bangladesh on the basis of mutual trust,” Xi said, according to CCTV.
He said Beijing and Dhaka should “firmly support each other” on core interests and support Bangladesh on issues such as safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. He said that the two countries will cooperate in infrastructure construction, water conservation, and digital, maritime, and environmental sectors.
This week, Dhaka said Yunus’ visit to China showed Bangladesh was “sending a message”. The 84-year-old Nobel laureate Yunus is expected to return home on Saturday after holding some high-level meetings in the Chinese capital. According to the Bangladeshi administration, agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries on economic and technical assistance, cultural and sports cooperation, and media cooperation.
Discussions are also expected to focus on the vast Rohingya refugee population, many of whom fled a violent military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar in 2017. China has in the past acted as a mediator for the repatriation of the persecuted Rohingya minority, although efforts have stalled due to Myanmar’s reluctance to take them back.
Indian tension
Yunus’s visit to Beijing has led to several exchanges of accusations between senior Indian and Bangladeshi officials. These tensions have also almost completely halted the flow of medical tourism from Bangladeshis to India, where thousands used to cross the border every year to seek care in their larger neighbor.
A top foreign ministry official in Dhaka said this week that discussions would be held on establishing a Chinese ‘friendship hospital’ in Beijing. Yunus’ interim government has the difficult task of implementing democratic reforms before new elections are due by mid-2026. The interim government has unsuccessfully requested India to extradite Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity for killing hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government.
Yunus has also sought to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an effort to restore ties. Both are expected to attend a regional conference in Bangkok next month. His government has not yet received a response. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the request was “under review.”
